Chinese Walkie Talkies

In another thread we touched on Chinese ham walkie talkies. Although I am not in the market for one at this time, I was wondering what the experiences/reviews of others have been with these inexpensive rigs.

Wouxun KG-UV2D - Decent all around radio, very sensitive receive, I have two. One I have to keep the squelch at 7 or 8 to keep it quiet, the other can stay at 4 or 5. Can program from the keypad, though using KGUV Commander or Chirp is much better. Had to remove 3 caps inside of my first one to remove the low pass audio filtering to improve the audio. The audio on my 2nd one seems fine (bought about a year apart from each other).

Baofeng UV-5R - I like this one as much as the Wouxun. You don't have to be transmitting to change the TX power on the fly, which is a plus. Doesn't have an encoder knob, but that's not a deal breaker. Smaller radio. Belt clip attaches to radio instead of batteries. Same number of memory channels, 128. Will have to test TX power, some have reported closer to 5W instead of 4W. TX audio on par with Wouxun.

HYS TC-UV88 - Dual band, similar in specs to the Wouxn & Baofeng. Bought a couple to try them out. The TX audio isn't as good as the others. Has some firmware bugs (always reverts to memory 0 when powering it up, even though the memory channel freq is the last one you used). The build quality isn't as good, the speaker/mic jacks broke on one of them. Had some battery issues, too. They work, but for the price, I'd go with one of the other two. No flashlight, has FM radio. Can link the two VFO's together if you don't intend on doing dual RX, so you can have one set to the name, the other to the freq. That's the ONLY feature I like on this one. Can only get it from the manufacturer, not FCC approved, warranty is sketchy and shipping is stupidly expensive. I paid $170 for two of them, with two spare batteries, and shipping, etc. At the time not a bad price, but that was before the cheap Baofengs were out.

Puxing PX777/Weierwei VEV3288 - Same radios. Single band. TX Audio not quite as good, but the newer ones may be better. Fairly solid, good battery life, not as feature filled as others. I got these before the dual band ones became popular, and for the $60-70 price, they were good. Typical annoying programming software from the manufacturer, but I think Chirp also works with them.

Quansheng TG-K4AT - Tried to be a clone of a Kenwood HT, not even close. No PC programming, TX audio Ok, but not great. No Alpha tagging, 99 memory channels. NiMH and LIon batteries available. Uses Kenwood 2 pin mic. Avoid these, unless someone is giving it to you. Programming isn't too bad, once you get the rhythm going. Single band VHF. No squelch control anywhere, you get what you get. Solid feeling radio, though, RX audio is fantastic.

Out of the latest crop of HT's, I'd probably go with the Baofeng and Wouxun radios first. Baofengs are about $25-80 cheaper than the Wouxun KG-UV2D, 3D, 6D, 6X, etc. They all use the standard Kenwood mics and programming cables (as long as you get one that's not software-brand specific). Features are similar, I'd go with Baofeng due to the price. Batteries are also 1800mAh, vs 1300 or 1700 for Wouxun. Baofeng was $65 at Dayton, worth it to me to pay a little more to get one from a good dealer (Import Communications) than having to wait for one from China. Can also get the Baofengs in Blue, Red, Camo, Yellow... I got my XYL one in blue.

I chose the Wouxun KG-UVD1P, sure it is about $100 - $150, but, your little Baofeng radios have zero filtering at all thanks to the design of the low pass filter in them and that is why I spent the extra 100 dollars. The KG-UVD1P is a tough, durable radio, it fits nicely in the hand, and once you put a better antenna on it works flawlessly. Spend the extra fifteen dollars for the programming cable if you are going to constantly program in different repeaters. Frankly, I haven't used any of the other Chinese radios, just because my Wouxun works perfectly.

I have the TYT UVF1, is a dual bander, the radio work fine, I got the radio march 2012 and still work fine, I also have UHF (HARETO) 5wats, ans work real good, both radios came from amazon and they chinese. The TYT was $99.99 and the HARETO was $35.00 with free shipping this one came from china. Am very happy with both radio. no complains....

I got a BaoFeng UV-5R, Its over all a really good HT (for $62 that is).
Not had any problems, apart from the fact I almost transmitted on a NOAA band(oops).
I would suggest getting an external antenna (for the car or house or whatever), for which you need an adapter. (I mean rubber ducks have a negative gain anyway.)
Just got this adapter http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F5FL5O/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

I'm happy with my Wouxuns, and for what I use an HT for, they are fine. I also have an ICOM DSTAR HT, and I prefer the audio from the Wouxuns when working analog repeaters. We gave away one of the Baofeng UV5R's as a door prize at Field Day, and it is a nice looking unit. I've had the UV1 and UV2 Wouxuns for over a year.

the wouxun was my first radio i bought as a new ham.
the radio is good. ive had the antenna connector come loose 2 times (open the case retightne screws) in a lil over a year, already had to replace the 17oomah battery and an antenna, but for awhile this was the only radio i had and it gets used ALOT!!!

ive bought a few mobiles and then got the uv3r. its ok for what it is.

it seems to eat batteries as after about 3 - 4 hours the bateries die. but will receive for a few more hours afterwards.

my 5r i havent done alot of transmitting on but the standby by time is quite impressive. the instructions say to completely drain the battery the first 3 times. i bought my radio a month ago and 2 days ago drained the battery for the 3rd time.

signal reports on local repeater are good. i just need to get the software to upload the freqs from my wouxun to it. it has some unneeded menu options (some that are only good for baofeng to baofeng transmiisons [secret chineeses plot to take over the world])

they're good for what they are but as a previous person said "they're chineese"

I have several of the Chinese radios, Bayofeng UV-3R+, the UV-3R+ Plus and the Puxing PX-777 Plus and a couple others. All are reliable units and cheap to purchase and get the job done. Spare parts are available for the 777 as well. I'm a Military member, and use the PX-777 for field deployments and find it to be very rugged and have never had any problems with it, and chose to use it because of the 5 watt power, keypad programming, analog volume pot and ruggedized construction and available accessories. I like the look of the UV-5R however, especially since the recent availability of the 3600 MaH batteries and am placing an order for one as soon as my retailer of choice (409Shop) gets them in stock.

No, they are not equal in fit, finish and and ease of programming as an HT from one of the Big Guys, BUT, it will receive a signal and transmit when you depress the PTT---and, at a lot cheaper price.

I hear the gripes about these radios, but the difference between the economic impact of $50 versus $300 on my checking account is not to be ignored.

I've got a 2m/440 and a 2m/ 220 Wouxun transceiver(s). For around $100.00 shipped on average they are a great deal. Included a Li-on battery with a drop in charger and a programming cable with the software. Solid build quality with above average fit and finish. I've sold off all my other H-T's by Yaesu and Icom. Kenwood accessories work with the Wouxun's. All in all they are a great value and come with an 18 month warranty and north American support through many US dealers. That said, mine are 2 plus years old and have always worked 100%. I would recommend these H-T's.

I recommend the Baofeng UV-5R. Easy to program by computer, pretty, has touch tones, real Volume control and on/off switch (unlike the UV-3R) and enough power to get out. A new battery is out for it that is 3600mAH. That should give INCREDIBLE battery life! Drop in charger, works great! I am tickled with mine. My UV-3R has display issues, but works otherwise. A little QRP.

I've been in ham radio since 1977 and have spent a bundle on the big 3 radios over the years. Having said that, I recently bought a Baofeng UV 5R, and a Wouxun KG-UV6X which is the commercial version, same as the KG UV6D with a few extras. The UV 5R was $54 shipped to my door , included drop in charger, and all the other basic goodies but they also added the programming cable so I couldn't resist. The Wouxun was $180 shipped to my door but in my opinion it's a whole lot better. Not that the Baofeng isn't good, it is, it works well but the Wouxun works better in my tests. Both have an aftermarket antenna to give them a little more punch. I was totally shocked one day when I read that you could buy a dual band HT will all these features for about $60, this is unheard of because for so many years if you wanted a good working dual band HT you had to spend $300 or more. These radios work, and they work well, they may not have bluetooth, and some of the other features of the big 4, but they suit my needs just fine.

Here's the Baofeng UV-3R Mk II (2M/440) and the Wouxun KG-UV3D (2M/220) side-by-side. The Baofeng has gone everywhere with me (kayaking, snowmobiling, business travel, etc) and has been very solid. I just picked up the Wouxun and so far, I really like it.

I bought couple FDC HTs about 2-3 years ago. Very basic HT but has everything to work any repeater. Pretty easy to set up and program. I bought one each 2M and 70cm at about $30 each new, looks like the price went up. They still work ok.